Coffee & Ginger: Ginger's Story

Tuesday, February 12, 2019


Good morning all! Or afternoon, or evening depending on your timezone. Today I'm sipping on Seattle's Best Portside blend, and I do mean sipping because it's a little bitter today. I put a lot of sugar and cream in it but it didn't seem to help much. Maybe it's just the blend. I regret not using one of my trusty flavored creamers! Today's topic came to me out of the blue but I thought it would be interesting! Those of you who have not yet read Ginger's autobiography might find this post hard to follow so I recommend doing so before diving in.

As a devoted Ginger fan, enthusiast, amateur historian or what have you, I do not mind admitting that I often can be very biased. I am not ignorant, but to me, everything Ginger does is fascinating. I personally do not believe she has a single bad performance throughout her films or a single bad song, I simply look at each example of her work as an opportunity to witness her doing what she does best. Every film was hard work, every note was sung with enthusiasm, and every dance was rehearsed tirelessly. It is simply a matter of appreciating an artist's work for what it is.

The same kind of concept applies to her book for me, and it was that story that cemented my affection for her and sparked the fire within me to learn more. Why? Because her autobiography was unlike any I had ever read up to then. Now I did not have an endless list of star biographies to compare to at the time, I was kind of just floating around trying to find my place in the Old Hollywood world, trying to figure out who I belonged with and where might my strongest interests be. But up until then, much of what I had read, especially coming from the Marilyn Monroe fan world, had been gossipy, convoluted, and based largely on he said she said. So as soon as I dove into Ginger's book, I became aware of what a nice break it was from all of that, and it wasn't long before I was absolutely hooked.


Ginger's autobiography is nothing short of charming. There are very few instances in which she discusses what the general public might consider "juicy" topics. Such examples would include her distaste for Mark Sandrich, her incident with Harry Cohn of Columbia Studios, and briefly touching on some of the rocky endings to her marriages. Too many people sift through star bios just to get to the meat, but I was more than delighted to learn about the simple things such as how much she loved the view from her hilltop Beverly Hills home.

While many at the time praised her for her clean story, many also wished there were more juicy details. Although she was not shy when it came to being honest about some of those she worked with, she did not like to dig too deep. Ginger was a very private person when it came to certain topics, and I find that admirable. She was largely in the public eye for nearly her entire life, and yet still  managed to successfully keep various aspects of her personal life to herself. This is apparent in her autobiography. Some were even bored by the lack of scandal. While some readers may have been turned off by it, the low key nature of Ginger's story was the thing that excited me the most. At that point, I had gotten more out of one autobiography than I ever had in all the previous ones I had read put together. This girl had charm and class like I had never seen before. She closed out her career in the most perfect way possible: by telling the true story of her life as she remembers it. She did not dwell on negative experiences and no matter how sourly some of her relationships may have ended, she acknowledges the importance of all people who crossed paths with her at one point or another.

Ginger: My Story is not for everyone. It will not satisfy those craving to know more about the dark side of Hollywood. It will, however, satisfy those looking to truly gain more knowledge about one of America's silver screen sweethearts. These days it is so important to be able to have the gift of a star's life in his or her own words. What was your first impression of Ginger's book? Do you wish she had dug deeper into certain aspects, or were you happy or surprised that she stayed away from gossip? What did you hope to learn more about? Personally, while I appreciate any opportunity to discover more about her no matter what it entails, I am incredibly pleased at her book the way it is. I am glad that she did not feel pressured to include things she would much rather have kept to herself. It shows confidence in her work and is her final word on the concept of just because someone is famous, doesn't give the world the right to every last detail of their life. She owns her image and can be as reserved about her history as she pleases, and this is something that should always be respected whether she is here or not.

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1 comment

  1. Ginger’s autobiography tells you exactly what she wants you to knows and not a bit more 😉 Just a she lived her life, there is the public side and the private side, and that is that. I find her startlingly intelligent, strong willed in a time that it was punished, and tougher than nails - and still relentlessly kind and caring from most accounts.

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